We reckon the creative geniuses at MB&F bathe in a ‘creativity fountain’ because they always manage to surprise us with their beautiful horological creations. The independent brand has just announced its latest mechanical deskclock (it seems wrong to say it’s just a deskclock), a robot with two personalities named Balthazar.

When you pair a creative horological think-tank like MB&F with the likes of creative types such as Black Badger’s James Thompson, super interesting things can, and will, happen. The proof is in the pictures, MB&F has just announced the HMX Black Badger (below) and the Starfleet Machine Black Badger at BaselWorld 2016.

The HMX’s stylish case is made of grade 5 titanium and stainless steel.

Dubai is the location that independent horological lab MB&F has chosen to open its third M.A.D. Gallery. M.A.D. (short for Mechanical Art Devices) is a concept that was launched in 2011 with the opening of the first gallery in Geneva, on Rue Verdaine, just a short distance away from MB&F’s offices. Since then, MB&F has opened a M.A.D. Gallery in Taipei and, now, Dubai.

Maximilian Büsser and Chicara Nagata greeted visitors at the official opening of the M.A.D. Gallery Dubai.

There’s just no predicting what Maximilian Büsser and his eponymous brand will get up to next. In 2015 MB&F introduced Melchior with two legs, Arachnophobia with eight legs and now, on day one of SIHH 2016, we’ve got… caterpillar treads. No, you aren’t seeing things, and yes, MB&F has a new robot, and the cute little guy is called Sherman.

When MB&F announced Melchior earlier in the year, it said that it was creating 99 pieces of the roboclock for customers, and that it would create, and donate, the 100th piece to a charity. True to its word, MB&F has just announced the Melchior unique piece for the Only Watch 2015 charity auction.

This is the 100th Melchior roboclock that MB&F talked about briefly, earlier in the year.

If you have a crippling fear of creepy crawlies or the sight of a spider causes you to exercise your vocal cords uncontrollably, you may want to stop reading right now. If, however, insects, bugs and spiders don’t bother you or you’re the type that is intrigued by them, we invite you to join us in welcoming ‘Arachnophobia’ to the world of horology. Arachnophobia is MB&F’s most intense mechanical clock yet, and is the second clock that the creative brand has released this year, as part of its 10th anniversary celebrations.

MB&F’s latest tells the time with two hands and eight legs. It’s brilliant.